As the last boat prepared to leave the beach, Old Jack walked up and set fire to the thatched roof palms of Tiki Wiki Billiards. He watched and smiled as the blaze sent dark smoke into the picture-perfect Polynesian sky.
CHAPTER 7
The Ship
Old Jack walked one of the many catwalks inside his immense vessel. The center of the cargo ship was packed with row upon row of steel cages. He listened to the sounds that resonated from the large hollow chamber—a menagerie of screams, growls, barks, and grunts. The air felt thick and damp. The light was dim and the smell intense. His men walked the metal catwalks that lined the upper levels. They had their guns cocked, ready to immediately thwart any kind of uprising.
Old Jack walked the corridors twice each day, keeping a keen eye on his precious cargo. His favorite stop was cage number seventy-nine, the cage that held his most prized possession, the cage that held the only known great white shark in captivity.
“How’s my favorite fish doing this evening?” Old Jack asked.
Shark was in the shadows at the back of the cage and did not respond. Old Jack could hear the movement of the chains that kept him restrained.
“Not much of a conversationalist these days, I see. I’m sorry to see that.” Old Jack peered through the bars of the cage but could still not see Shark clearly. “I was kind of hoping for that cheery fellow, you know, that rambunctious chap from Gill’s and Tiki Wiki, the guy that thought he owned the pool table, the guy that just couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut.” Old Jack kept peering into the cage, trying to see Shark. “Any idea what happened to that miserable excuse for existence?”
Shark spoke in almost a whisper. “There’s only one promise that I will make to you, Old Jack.”
“He speaks,” Old Jack said in a condescending tone. “And what might that promise be, my great white friend?”
Shark stood and dragged his chains to the center of his cage. His body was half in and half out of the light. “That one day I will make you suffer. One day you will beg me to end your life quickly.”
Old Jack faked shaking his body. “Whew, that’s scary! Big bad Shark is making threats.”
“Laugh all you want. The moment I look into your eyes and have them beg me to kill you will be one of the finest moments of my life.”
Old Jack felt agitated and ran a metal clipboard across the bars of the cage, creating an annoying noise. “I just don’t get what you don’t understand. I explain and explain, but nothing seems to get through. Maybe it’s that thick grey skin of yours. Let me tell you again. You are in no position to threaten me. Where you’re going the specialty of the house is shark fin soup.” Old Jack laughed. “Come to think of it, I’ve already shipped your buddy Dog Z Boy there. I’m sure they’ve already made a nice delicacy out of him.”
Shark rushed the front of the cage. The chains stopped him short, making the entire cage structure rock. The movement knocked Old Jack off balance, almost making him fall.
“That’s the spirit,” Old Jack said as he regained his footing. “A spirited fish always brings more at market. Keep it up. The price I can get for you goes up every day.”
Old Jack turned and spoke to a guard. “No food for this one today.” He took one last look into Shark’s cage, made a check on his clipboard, and moved down the catwalk.
Vixen, locked in Old Jack’s cabin, had no idea what had happened to Shark, but felt deep down that he was on board the ship. She paced back and forth, trying to keep her balance as the boat rocked. A large flower vase on the night table began to fall; she grabbed it and placed it upright on the floor.
She heard footsteps coming down the hall and the rustle of keys in the lock. The door opened and Old Jack stood before her. He carried a large tray loaded with a mixture of fruits and vegetables and hot tea.
“A treat for you, my dear,” he said as he placed the tray on a desk next to the bed. “Consider this a special little gift for my girl.”
“I’m not your girl,” Vixen replied sharply. “And I don’t need your special little gifts.”
Old Jack approached her. She tried to back away, but all she could do was turn her head as he ran his cold, bony fingers across her face, the feeling of which repulsed her. “Come now, don’t be silly, one must eat for strength.” He looked down at her. “Do you know what the other animals on this ship would do for a meal like this?”
“What would they do, Jack? Anything you wanted?” She looked directly at him. “Do you think you can buy obedience with food or money? Let me tell you, there isn’t enough food or money in the world that would make me want to be with someone like you. You’re a horrible creature.”
“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment.” He turned and poured a cup of tea. “My mother would be proud.”
Vixen could feel the anger rising in her body. How she hated him. She looked down and noticed the key ring hanging from his belt. She thought for a moment, then noticed the vase on the floor. As if by instinct, she grabbed the vase and in one quick move crashed it over Old Jack’s head. The hot tea he was dinking splashed up and scalded his face as his limp body fell to the floor. He was out cold. Vixen worked fast to remove the keys from his belt. She made her way to the door, which was unlocked, stepped out of the cabin and moved quietly down the hall.
She could hear the sounds of guards talking. They were coming directly toward her and she hid behind a laundry basket. The guards stopped right next to her but did not look down. Vixen held her breath and did her best to stay quiet.
“It should only be about two more weeks at sea,” one man said.
The other guard checked his watch. “That’s a relief. The sooner I get off this floating sardine can the better.” The guard reached into his pocket and took out a stick of chewing gum. As he did so, a coin fell out of his pocket and dropped to the floor. Vixen moved to the other side of the laundry cart as the two men looked down.
“Here, let me get it,” the other guard said as he bent down and looked for the coin. He turned his head and looked to the side of the laundry basket. “What do we have here? I think we found her,” he said as he reached down and grabbed the coin.
Vixen’s heart was beating fast as she heard the men disappear through a door. She slowly stood, looked up and down the corridor, stepped out and continued down the hall.
She came to a large steel door with a sign on the top that read: Cargo Hold. She tried to open it, but it was locked, so she quickly tried each of Old Jack’s keys until she heard a pop.
She turned the handle on the door and opened it. Inside the chamber was a vast array of cages stacked floor to ceiling. The smell was almost unbearable. She looked up and noticed guards posted at each level.
“You’re starting to give me quite the headache,” she heard Old Jack’s voice say from behind her.
Vixen’s body froze.
“And to think, all I did was to try to make your journey comfortable.”
She felt Old Jack grab her by the hair, and he twisted her around to face him. His cheeks and mouth were red and blistered from the scalding tea.
“The one thing I would like to know is where you thought you were actually going? We’re in the middle of the ocean, my dear. Did you even have a plan before you thought about escape?” He looked down into her eyes and whispered. “Of course you didn’t have a plan, you dumb girl. The same dumb girl that believes in fairy tales and treasure pacts.” He moved his other hand onto her throat and pinned her against the wall. She gagged as his grip tightened. “The safety of a nice, clean, comfortable cabin can mean the difference between life and death on a ship like this. But, let’s say that it’s about time your room reservation expired. But that’s okay, because we have a nice dirty cage waiting for you, here, with the rest of these heathens.” He grabbed Vixen by the hair and dragged her to the center of the cargo hold. She looked up at the cages; the sound of the commotion was making all the animals look down from above. She sensed Shark was one of them.
Old
Jack tossed her to the floor as he yelled, addressing the entire ship, “We have here a free spirit who thinks she can escape! But let me tell you all. Escape from this vessel is not an option. Even if you are able to free yourselves from your cages, where would you go? We are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Unless you are ready to swim two thousand miles, and I know there is not one of you on board that can, I suggest that you choose obedience and get the thought of escape out of your minds.” Old Jack looked down at Vixen. “And, if this little speech has not convinced you that escape from my ship is a very bad idea, then maybe this will.” She watched his foot rise from the floor and head toward her. She felt the impact of the kick as it landed in her stomach. The pain was intense. She felt the second kick as it hit her head, making her dizzy. Old Jack stopped, looked up at the crowd, and kicked her again. She rolled on the floor and folded herself into a fetal position.
She heard a piercing scream from up above, louder than that of any other animal. “Damn you, Old Jack, damn you.” It was Shark, his voice echoing through the hollow hold.
Old Jack looked up at the cages as they began to violently shake. He yelled, “I see we at least have someone’s attention!” He looked back down, locking eyes with Vixen. She felt the kicks as they came quick. It did not seem like he cared where they landed—her head, her mouth, her stomach, they were all fair game. She could hear her bones cracking, and the pain made her eyes swell with tears. She heard the crowd as they begged him to stop. With each kick, she could hear Shark continuing to scream her name, and she felt sorry he had to watch. She knew it was him, shaking his cage with his powerful muscles. It seemed as if he was making the entire ship rock. Old Jack continued his ruthless beating. She looked up as his foot came directly toward her face. Then there was stillness. She was completely dazed and could do nothing but lie motionless on the floor. But she could feel Old Jack reach down and grab her wrist, checking her pulse. “Throw her in the cage next to Shark,” he said to a guard. “I want him to watch her die.”
Shark looked down at Vixen’s motionless body and dropped to his knees. He placed his hands over his face as he muffled one last gigantic, agonized scream before falling backwards into the darkness at the rear of the cage. Anger consumed his entire body, and he began to physically shake. He loved her. There was no denying that. The thought of life without her was unimaginable, and he would gladly give his own life to save her. The all-consuming, overwhelming rush of emotion and grief to his heart made it palpitate rapidly, and for a brief moment he felt as if it might actually explode.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shark could see guards carrying a body down the catwalk. He watched as the guards dropped Vixen onto the floor of the empty cage next to his. He crawled to the bars and reached for her, but she was unconscious and just beyond his grasp. He quickly looked around the cage for something to use to drag her closer, but there was nothing. Looking down at his chains he felt the extra slack, and he tossed the chains into Vixen’s cage, where they caught around her torso. He pulled her body close and hugged her tight against the cold steel bars. Shark wiped the blood from her face and gently caressed the bumps he could feel on her head. He held her for hours, even as his body tried to force itself to sleep, which he refused to let it do. Instead, he decided to try to get his mind under control; he had to escape for a moment to happier times. Shark closed his eyes and decided to think about the first trip he and Dog Z Boy took to the Florida Keys, the same trips where he first laid eyes on Vixen.
The plane landed at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport. Shark and Dog Z Boy looked like typical tourists in their brightly colored tropical shirts as they headed down the terminal, following the signs for baggage claim.
“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Dog Z Boy said excitedly. “I’ve wanted to take a trip to Florida my entire life.”
Shark felt equally excited. “You can believe it, Dog Z Boy. Just take a deep breath of that warm tropical air. Let it fill your lungs and rejuvenate your soul. We’re here, and the party is just about to begin.”
They headed down an escalator. Shark felt Dog Z Boy tap him on the shoulder. “You know where we’re going, right?”
“I’ve been studying the maps and the guidebooks for over a week,” Shark replied with confidence. “First thing we do is get the bikes, then we head south on the Florida Turnpike until it runs into U.S. 1, which takes us directly into paradise.”
Dog Z Boy was like a little kid and kept firing questions. “How far is it?”
They stepped off an escalator and continued down another corridor. Shark looked at Dob Z Boy with a huge smile. “Well, it’s about an hour’s ride down to Key Largo, that’s the first little island that you hit in the Keys, and from there, it’s about a hundred miles to Key West on a road they call the overseas highway. It’s supposed to be one of coolest rides on Earth. On one side you have the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other side the Gulf of Mexico. They say it feels like you’re riding right across the ocean.”
“Man, I can’t wait,” Dog Z Boy said as they turned a corner and headed for the baggage carousel.
Shark looked at the signs above the baggage claims and led Dog Z Boy to the one that matched their flight. “Along the way, we’ll make some stops and take in everything that the Keys have to offer. Nothing but drinks and relaxation.”
“Here they come,” Dog Z Boy said as he grabbed two small bags off the conveyer belt. “We’re going to stop at that beach bar, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Shark said as he took his bag from Dog Z Boy. “We sure are. The bar is about halfway through the Keys. A place called Mutiny’s Revenge. It’s named after the pirates that made extra money smuggling non-taxed rum from the islands of the Caribbean and Bahamas. It’s also supposedly the place where they invented the famous drink by the same name.”
“Sounds good, can’t wait to have one of those,” Dog Z Boy replied as they waved down the rent-a-car van, climbed in and took a seat.
Shark looked out the window at the palm trees that lined the street. “From there, it’s onto some place called Paradise Key to find a bar that actually doesn’t have a name. I read they have some of the coldest beer and some of the best pizza in the world.”
Dog Z Boy looked over at Shark. “How we supposed to find the bar if it doesn’t have a name?”
Shark rested his elbow on Dog Z Boy’s shoulder. “I guess we just wing it, and if that doesn’t work, maybe we just open up our noses and follow the scent of cold beer and hot pizza.”
“I’m getting thirsty and hungry already,” Dog Z Boy said with a big smile.
The rental car van stopped and they went inside and waited in a short line. “Then it’s off to Key West,” Shark continued. “The southernmost place in the USA, where we are going to consume some adult beverages at a bar called Blackbeard’s Bounty. It’s actually a place where Ernest Hemingway used to drink. I plan to sit at that bar, have myself an ice-cold beer and smoke an authentic Cuban cigar.”
“Sounds like the perfect vacation,” Dog Z Boy replied.
“I must say, I have to agree.” Shark signed the paperwork and handed Dog Z Boy the key to his bike. “Two choppers, locked and loaded.”
“Yeah, man,” Dog Z Boy said as he raised his fist in the air and the two of them banged knuckles.
“Let’s ride,” Shark said. “Somewhere out there is a pool table with our name on it, where I plan to teach you a lesson by kicking your ass.”
Dog Z Boy looked over at Shark as they climbed on the bikes. “One of these days, I’m going to shock you and actually win.”
Shark looked over at Dog Z Boy. “Yeah, and one of these days bars will hand out free beer,” he said sarcastically. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
They started the bikes and headed south toward the tropical paradise known as the Florida Keys.
There was a loud sound. A bored guard was banging on the cages with a metal cup; the noise snapped Shark out of his daydream and back to his grim rea
lity. The loud sound also woke Vixen, and in an instant she was crying out in excruciating pain. “Why didn’t he just kill me?” she asked as tears ran down her face. She looked up and realized Shark was next to her. “Oh, Shark, I’m so sorry for getting you into all this.”
Shark ran the back of his hand over her face. “Don’t worry about that now. You’re alive, and that’s all that matters.”
Vixen cried out, “I can’t handle the pain. It feels like my entire body is broken.”
“I know it hurts,” Shark said as Vixen’s body twisted in his arms. You have to be strong.”
“The pain is too much. Just put me out of my misery.”
It was hard for Shark to see her in so much pain, and if he could have taken it for her, he would have done so. But there was nothing else he could do. He reached in and covered her nose and mouth. Her body kicked as the oxygen supply was cut off, and after a moment she collapsed in his arms. He quickly removed his hands and felt the pulse in her neck. She had passed out but was still alive.
Shark looked up to see Old Jack standing in front of his cage.
“Nice move,” Old Jack said. “If it was me, I probably would have just killed the whiney bitch.”
Shark watched as Old Jack signaled to guards to open Vixen’s cage. They entered and pulled her from his grip.
“Where are you taking her?” Shark asked.
Shark & The Wolf: Predators and Prey Page 8